


of monsters and mayhem

by CartoonConnoisseur



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Auntie Kya, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:07:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27585857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CartoonConnoisseur/pseuds/CartoonConnoisseur
Summary: Meelo somehow gets it into his head that he can scare his Aunt Kya. Unfortunately, the task proves much more difficult than he anticipated.
Relationships: Meelo & Kya II (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. cry havoc (and let slip the polar bear dogs of war)

Kya meandered out of the women's domitory building and towards the meditation pavillion, stopping for a moment to savor the cool morning air. Despite her years of traveling the world and experiencing everything from the enormity of Ba Sing Se to the coziness of Kyoshi Island, it was always satisfying to have a place to return to. She smiled airily, watching the sun begin its climb over the distant mountains, bathing the city and Air Temple Island in a familiar glow before continuing to the pavilion. 

She sat gently down upon the wooden platform and took some deep breaths before settling herself into a meditation position. Harmonic Convergence had taken place 3 years ago, yet many noticeable changes were still being discovered. A spiritual aura now saturated the atmosphere since the joining of the spirit portals, facilitating a fresher meditation experience. Kya noted that said aura seemed to be strongest in the mornings and evenings, so she'd decided to take advantage of it and meditate during those times as often as she could. Little did she know that someone else had decided to take advantage of the morning, for reasons known only to him. 

Meelo crouched in a nearby bush, doing his level best to keep quiet. As was known by his family, this didn't quite come naturally to him, so he'd taken some precautions before sneaking outside. He'd made sure to use the bathroom first before going through with his plan, as he was wont to fart noisily if he did not. Then he'd opened his bedroom window quietly and slipped out, the wooden hallway was much too creaky for sneaking and his dad would probably have heard him if he'd gone that route. Regardless, he'd somehow managed to make his way over near the pavilion without anybody hearing him. 

Now Meelo had gotten it into his head recently that he could sneak up behind people and startle them. He'd successfully done so with Ikki, Jinora and Pema, with extremely entertaining results. He'd made note of their reactions so that he could find ways to provoke them out of them later. Ikki had squealed the highest, Jinora had dropped the book she was holding, and Pema, well, she'd just jumped. Oh, but it was an excellent jump. He'd have to experiment more to get a bigger jump out of her. 

"Focus, Meelo," he whispered to himself. Now was not the time to reminisce on past victories, that would lead to him getting cocky. And cockiness, as he well knew, would lead to defeat. He got to his feet and tiptoed softly towards his aunt, who was now deep into her meditation. He had to remain extremely quiet or the whole thing would be messed up. Using a little bending to keep his breathing quiet, he inched ever closer to her until he was within striking distance. He positioned himself and let out the biggest, ugliest, most incomprehensible sound he could muster. 

He'd expected a loud yell and a slight jump, perhaps even a glare, if he was lucky. (He'd gotten used to those.) However, what he hadn't expected was for her to turn around, smile at him and say, "Hey, Meelo." 

His jaw dropped. How could this have happened? He'd done everything perfectly! He'd even pooed first! He'd gone through all this effort and for what? For her to be so blatantly _not_ startled in the least! Where did he go wrong? 

Kya smirked at her nephew's dismay. "What's the matter? Catgator got your tongue?" 

He spluttered for a moment, raking his hands through his bristly hair, clearly unprepared for her anticlimactic reaction. "But- I just- I was- how?!? I tried to be quiet! I really did! I didn't even make one little toot!" 

His aunt laughed at his flustered reaction. "I don't scare easily, Mister Scorpion Bee. Uncle Bumi forgot to tell you, didn't he?" 

"But how can you _not_ be startled? Everyone gets startled!" he retorted, folding his arms and pouting. 

"I just don't. Guess it just happens sometimes," she shrugged. 

"Something's got to startle you though. And I'm going to find out what it is if it takes me my whole life!" he declared, wagging a finger at his aunt. 

"Are you sure?" she asked playfully. "You might only be putting yourself through unnecessary grief." 

Meelo marched up to her and scowled directly into her face. "I'm gonna scare you someday, Aunt Kya. You mark my words. Your farts will stink with the stench of fear!" 

She only smiled mischievously at that, her cerulean eyes twinkling. "I can assure you, I'll never smell it coming from myself. Oh, yes," she whispered in reaction to his widened eyes, "I can smell fear. And you're positively _rank_ with it. I suggest you not underestimate me, Mister Scorpion Bee, or it will only end in your humiliation." 

He steeled his gaze, stifling a shiver at what was actually an impressive villainous monologue. So it was a war she wanted, was it? Well she was going to get the war of her life if he had anything to say about it. He was about to retort with a clever heroic one liner but the smell of stewed sea prunes stopped him. 

"How about we call a truce for breakfast?" Kya asked, getting to her feet and offering her hand. "We can gross your dad out with the sea prunes." 

Meelo pretended to think about it before nodding and giving her hand a firm shake. "I suppose. We need food to fuel our strength so that we can battle later." 

His aunt chuckled darkly, a sly grin curling her lips. "I'm looking forward to it." 


	2. spider-cat and mouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meelo and Kya duke it out in a mini bending battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rewrote chapter 2 bc the original idea I had for it was just Not Doing It for me haha. Hope this is better!

Meelo crouched as silently as he could behind a rock with Poki perched atop his shoulder, anticipating his aunt's arrival. The ferry had just arrived at the island dock and he'd been waiting for Kya to disembark after another routine visit to the Southern Water Tribe. He always got excited whenever she arrived back at the island because that meant another potential opportunity to sneak up on her. His aunt had been his most challenging opponent yet but he wasn't going to let a little thing like that stop him. Besides, if she found out he'd quit trying to scare her (and she most definitely would), she'd never let him live it down and neither would his sisters. His reputation was at stake. 

Kya stepped off the ferry, bading the captain farewell. Two acolytes followed with her luggage. Meelo grinned. If he couldn't scare her, at least he could get a good one out of the acolytes. Poki chittered softly and he shushed him, turning to watch his aunt and the acolytes make their way off the dock and up the long winding walkway that led to the temple courtyard above. He waited for a moment as they disappeared around the corner, then crept slowly out of his hiding place. Poki leapt off his shoulder and followed closely behind him. 

He poked his head around the corner and spotted his aunt and the acolytes halfway up the path. He used a little air to give him a small speed boost, putting him directly behind them. Taking a deep breath, he let out a strong blast of air from his lungs, startling the two acolytes. To their credit, they held tightly to the suitcases, casting him mildly annoyed glances as they dusted themselves off. 

Kya, however, didn't even so much as flinch. She stood stock-still, and for a moment, Meelo wondered if he'd made a mistake. To his relief however, she turned around wearing her trademark mischievous grin. Excitement flooded his chest. He was definitely in for it! 

"Shall we just take these to the women's dormitories then?" one of the acolytes asked, a nervous young woman in her twenties. 

"That's fine, Jin," Kya replied. She nodded and with her fellow acolyte, headed up the rest of the way to the dormitory. 

"So, you continue to insist on challenging me then?" she asked, a hint of teasing in her voice. 

"Oh yeah! I gotta get you off your high ostrich-horse! You villains think you're so mighty but you're no match for me!" Meelo answered defiantly with an audacious grin. 

"We'll just see about that!" she taunted, lunging at him. He dodged, shooting blasts of air at her but missing as she dodged. She'd gotten into bending matches with Tenzin before, so she knew exactly what to expect. Meelo summoned his air scooter and sped up the walkway into the courtyard to get a headstart. If he was going to take her down, he would do it by ambush. 

He dashed inside the covered walkway and threw himself to the ground behind the railing. Poki clambered onto his head, chittering softly. He shushed him quickly, knowing she'd soon be over this way in a minute or two. No doubt she'd give him a hard time for running away, but it would be worth it in the end. 

Kya's evil laughter sounded in the distance and a chill ran through him. This was why she made such an excellent opponent: she always embraced the role wholeheartedly. She must have been fun to grow up with. He found himself wondering if she and Korra ever played together while in the Southern Water Tribe. 

Kya stalked about the temple grounds, an evil grin on her lips. If her nephew wanted a villain, he was going to get one. She made her way over towards the courtyard pond to get some water, when a lemur chitter and a "Shhh, Poki!" emanating from the walkway at the edge of the courtyard told her all she needed to know. Rather than simply "finding" him, she decided it would be more fun to bait him out of hiding. She gave a low whistle and Poki leapt off of Meelo's head and flew straight into her arms, sniffing her eagerly. He calmed down and curled up into a ball as she stroked him gently. Her eyes twinkled playfully at Meelo, who was now squinting at her suspiciously over the railing. So much for his ambush. 

"You know, I think Poki likes _me_ better," she taunted as she continued to pet him. "Perhaps I could even recruit his friends to help me..." 

"You couldn't steal my lemur army if you tried!" Meelo hollered back, scowling. 

"Oh, couldn't I? Isn't airbending all about using your opponent's energy against them?" she laughed. "Why don't you come over here and face me then, instead of running and hiding?" 

"You asked for it!" he shouted, leaping off the railing and launching himself at her with a boost of air. Poki flew out of her arms and perched on the nearby roof to watch the action. Kya summoned a tendril of water and used it to wrap around his arm and redirect him into the water. Meelo came up coughing and sputtering but still determined. His aunt summoned a water ring to surround her, and she cocked her head at him, inviting him to attack. 

He let loose an air kick at her legs, knocking her to the ground and disrupting her water ring, splashing back into the pond. She got to her feet again quickly and re-established it, launching small ice shards at him. Her nephew managed to catch them with an air funnel and directed them back towards her. She stopped each one with the palm of her hand, changing them back to liquid and casting them aside. Kya gathered up more water and shifted easily to octopus form, her stance firm, yet fluid like the element she bent. 

Tendrils of water lashed at Meelo as he nimbly, but narrowly, evaded each of them. Just then, an idea came to him. He summoned an enormous air scooter and zipped out of her range. Then, he bounced atop it several times before launching himself into the air and landing squarely onto her shoulders, toppling her over into the water. 

Meelo whooped loudly, pumping his fist in triumph, as he leapt off of her shoulders. "I got you where I want you, Aunt Kya! It's over!" 

His aunt rolled over, coughing before stopping to catch her breath. She smirked at him, still panting softly. "What- what do you plan... to do with me?" 

"Well, I could destroy you, but I don't think Dad would let me," he replied matter-of-factly. 

"Go ahead, Meelo. Do it," she hissed, teeth bared in a vengeful grin. "Strike me down... with all of your hatred." 

He squinted at her suspiciously. Clearly, she had one last trick up her sleeve, but he wasn't sure what it was. She chuckled darkly at his obvious confusion. 

"You're hesitating," she teased in an eerie sing-song whisper. 

"But why would you want to be destroyed? Most villains don't want that, unless..." His eyes widened in horror as the implications of what she was planning dawned on him. A devious smile twisted her face. 

"Go on." 

"You're counting on your destruction because you'll come back somehow, stronger than before!" 

A villainous laugh erupted from her throat as she got to her feet. "Well done, Meelo. You've always been a clever one." 

"But all I have to do is just not destroy you. Problem solved!" he grinned, but said grin faded quickly under her sly gaze. 

"I'm afraid it's not quite that simple, Mister Scorpion Bee," she hummed. "Death is something that none of us can escape, not even me. Nature will destroy my body in the end, but nothing can destroy my spirit." She advanced on him, her voice growing softer. "You see, the thing with bodies? They get tired and they wear out. Spirits have no such limitations. Once I'm free of this mortal shell, there will be absolutely _nothing_ keeping me from haunting you for the rest of your life." 

A grin finally broke Meelo's attempt at a stoic expression. "Really? You mean that?" 

She grinned back at her rambunctious nephew, one that was equal parts affectionate and mischievous. "Always." 

The young airbender leapt into her arms, squeezing her as tight as his scrawny little arms could muster. She returned the hug with equal fervor and picked him up, chuckling softly. He gazed at her with adoring gray eyes. 

"This is gonna sound weird, but you're my favorite opponent!" he exclaimed. 

His aunt beamed at that, touching her forehead to his. "I'm honored." 

"What's taking Auntie Kya so long? I wanna talk to her about the sky bison calves!" 

They both turned their heads in the direction of Ikki's voice. The rest of the family was approaching from the end of the walkway, no doubt to greet Kya. She set Meelo down gently and he ran up to his father, jumping up and down. 

"Dad! I just had the most awesome fight with Aunt Kya! She's the best at being creepy and scary and that's why she makes a good villain! And she does this really super creepy voice too!" 

Tenzin chuckled softly, ruffling Meelo's hair fondly. "Is that right? She used to sneak up on me a lot whenever I practiced my meditation." 

"Careful Tenzin, you're making me nostalgic," Kya teased, giving her youngest brother a gentle hug. "How've you been?" 

"Busy," he sighed. "What with Jinora and I helping teach the new airbenders, the other kids have naturally gotten to be more than a handful. She's at the Southern Air Temple right now, but she'll be back here in a few days." 

"Dad, you're thinking about Rohan and Meelo," Ikki interrupted petulantly. "I'm well-behaved!" 

"Whatever the case is," Kya interjected before Tenzin could respond, "I can handle anything you kids dish out. Isn't that right, Meelo?" she winked. 

He grinned. "You sure can!" 

"Alright kids, why don't we go in and wash up for dinner? You can tell Aunt Kya more about your adventures then," Pema suggested. 

The children voiced their assent and hurried back into the main dormitory, with Pema following. Tenzin and Kya followed, but stopped just short of the entrance. 

"I hope you haven't been getting Meelo into trouble," he said, raising a questioning eyebrow. 

"Eh, just a little roughhousing. He's a tough kid, don't you worry. Besides, I think he's tougher than you were when you were his age," she teased, giving his shoulder a gentle shove. 

Tenzin scoffed. "I expect you'll tell him how you used to scare me, then?" 

Kya chuckled softly, heading into the main dormitory. "Oh, you can bet on it." 


End file.
